{"id":687,"date":"2022-09-16T14:58:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/?p=687"},"modified":"2022-09-16T14:58:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:58:55","slug":"importance-of-a-comprehensive-care-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/?p=687","title":{"rendered":"Importance of a Comprehensive Care Team"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UW
University of Washington MS Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week I went into the clinic to see my MS doctors in person for the first time since COVID started.\u00a0 My appointments have been virtual for years now, which is a convenience I greatly appreciate, but ultimately lesser care.\u00a0 When I see my doctors in person, they can do physical assessment and more accurately determine an appropriate course of care.\u00a0 When my appointments are virtual, I try hard to describe what I am feeling, and exactly where in my body I am feeling it, which mostly looks like a very bad game of charades. \u00a0We have made do.<\/p>\n

I really like my doctors. Dr. Hou, my physiatrist, has grown on me.\u00a0 When I first met her, I found her timid and socially awkward.\u00a0 She would walk into the room with her handbag hanging from her elbow like she was leaving to catch a train soon.\u00a0 She speaks very quietly and, while doing physical exams, her touch feels homeopathic \u2013 a diffuse approximation of contact. \u00a0Over the years she has had my back.\u00a0 When I was working with the long-term disability company at work, she was essential in my getting the appropriate benefits and accommodation.\u00a0 When I was applying for social security disability, she again helped make sure the documentation was complete and thorough.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t hesitate to provide referrals, is always looking for new treatments or devices to help make my life better and, even though she can defer too much to my opinions, she is able to get through to me the pros and cons of medication choices and strategies.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Gloria Hou<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My neurologist, Dr. von Geldern, is warm and knowledgeable. \u00a0She is a sparkly-eyed German woman whom I\u2019m sure would envelop me in a bear hug if it weren\u2019t for medical protocol. \u00a0She is respectful of my knowledge of my body, my intelligence and healthcare background, and my decisions. \u00a0She is never rushed and she also helps me get whenever support I need \u2013 medical marijuana approval, a disabled parking permits authorization, approval for any and all appropriate medications.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Gloria von Geldern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I see these practitioners at the University of Washington Multiple Sclerosis Center. \u00a0When I was employed, I had the pleasure of working with Joe Stuckey, the vocational rehabilitation counselor at the center.\u00a0 He walked me through my evolving decisions related to accommodation at my workplace, my interaction with long-term disability insurance, and ultimately the decision to leave the workforce and apply for social security disability.\u00a0 A vocational rehabilitation counselor provides pragmatic information as well as the emotional support in dealing with the grief and loss of leaving meaningful employment.<\/p>\n

\"Joe
Joe Stuckey MS, CRC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The center also provides mental health counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, regular education classes, and is an infusion center if you are prescribed medication that requires it.\u00a0 For the most part, I\u2019ve seen the same nursing staff over the last 10 years which provides a comforting continuity of care over time.<\/p>\n

\"Services<\/p>\n

This comprehensive and collaborative care model is something I hadn\u2019t questioned.\u00a0 It makes perfect sense and I assumed it\u2019s what many had access to.\u00a0 In fact, we have two fantastic multiple sclerosis centers in Seattle. \u00a0In talking with my weekly MS Zoom women\u2019s group, it has become clear to me that this isn\u2019t so.\u00a0 The eight women in my group are similar age, education level, socioeconomic status, and proximity to urban centers.\u00a0 Except for one other woman (who also lives in the greater Seattle area), this isn\u2019t the case.\u00a0 A couple of the women are close to University of California university hospitals.\u00a0 A couple of others are patients at Mayo Clinics. \u00a0And another, though technically in the greater Seattle area, is far enough away that her closest Health Care providers are not part of an MS center. \u00a0It would make sense that this collaborative model of care would be available in these different environments, but they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I am lucky, and I shouldn\u2019t have to be.\u00a0 This center-based care model works.\u00a0 The right providers and modalities work together in a concerted way where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.\u00a0 Because they can communicate with each other about patients, less things fall through the cracks and more creative solutions to problems are possible. \u00a0It is a human model of care where patients feel seen and heard.\u00a0 When I go in for my appointments, the degree to which I\u2019d don\u2019t feel anonymous helps inspire hope and optimism.\u00a0 My team has my back and is rooting for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I went into the clinic to see my MS doctors in person for the first time since COVID started.\u00a0 My appointments have been virtual for years now, which is a convenience I greatly appreciate, but ultimately lesser care.\u00a0 When I see my doctors in person, they can do physical assessment and more accurately … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Importance of a Comprehensive Care Team”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[40,39,20,37,38,41],"class_list":["post-687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-medical-providers","tag-collaborative-care","tag-ms-center","tag-multiple-sclerosis","tag-neurologist","tag-physiatrist","tag-vocational-rehab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":688,"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687\/revisions\/688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seedsproutblossom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}